Chapter 2: Lot-drawing Convention (1/2)

The next day....

The great hall of the Nie clan was full of excited people, and the atmosphere was quite bustling.

Liu Yan, from the Cloudsoaring sect, was surrounded by a crowd of Nie clan members of all ages. They showed great concern for him by asking about his well-being, hoping to win his favor and thus giving their children or grandchildren a slightly better chance of being admitted to the Cloudsoaring sect.

Liu Yan was wearing a grey robe, and a hint of smile could be seen at the corner of his mouth. He was in the seat of honor, chatting to nearby Nie clan members with a bit impatience in his eyes.

From the start to the end, Liu Yan never stood up; the surrounding members of Nie clan kept bowing in an extremely humble manner.

One by one, members of the Nie clan brought in their one-year-old children through the gate of the hall.

Every comer would take their child to greet Liu Yan and make a introduction to him with their face full of smiles. Only after that would they greet and pay respect to the three elders of the Nie clan, who were seated beside Liu Yan.

Nie Donghai, together with his second brother Nie Beichuan and third brother Nie Nanshan, didn’t try to flatter and please Liu Yan due to their special status. But every time they met his gaze, they would also wear their brightest smiles.

Unlike the day before, Nie Donghai looked radiant and energetic, with absolutely no evidence of injuries.

“Nie Qian? What did you bring Nie Tian here for?” These sudden, ill-timed words came from Nie Lan, who had introduced his son to Liu Yan moments ago. He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked unhappily towards the gate of the hall.

Nie Lan was Nie Beichuan’s son. While he was the oldest among the second generation of the Nie clan, his cultivation talent was quite poor. He had only reached the ninth level of Qi Refining and hadn’t been able to break through the bottleneck and enter the Lesser Heaven stage.

For this reason, he had long since given up his own cultivation and placed all his hope in his three sons.

At present, his first son, who was only eleven years old, had reached the seventh level of Qi Refining. As long as he could reach the ninth level in the next four years, he would win the Cloudsoaring sect’s favor and become their disciple. With the Cloudsoaring sect’s help, he would eventually be able to reach the Lesser Heaven stage and live a bright future.

His second son, who was six, also showed outstanding cultivation talent by achieving the fourth level of Qi Refining. A promising future was in store.

Today he brought his third son Nie Hong, who had just turned one.

The births of his three children had been carefully calculated so that every one of them happened to be at the proper age to attend the quinquennial lot-drawings. Both of the elder sons had made remarkable gains during the last two lot-drawings.

It was Nie Hong’s turn this time.

As Nie Lan spoke, all the eyes of the Nie clan members inside the hall became fixed on Nie Qian and Nie Tian, who had just pa.s.sed through the gate.

“Eldest brother,” Nie Qian said loudly. “I’ve brought Nie Tian to attend this year’s lot-drawing convention.”

Nie Tian was standing by her side, as adorable and strong as a tiger cub. Not only was he taller than the other children in attendance, but he also seemed more muscular.

In spite of the volume of her voice, Nie Qian looked a bit uneasy under everyone’s scalding stares.

Nie Tian, on the contrary, was full of smiles, completely unaware of the all the eyes glaring at them with ill intentions. Instead, he seemed to be enjoying being the center of attention, and didn’t flinch an inch.

“Nie Tian?” Nie Lan snorted disdainfully. He didn’t look very happy. “His family name is Nie, but it is only because we have no idea who his father is. In fact, he isn’t a true Nie at all. According to the Nie clan rules, a daughter’s son shouldn’t be qualified to attend lot-drawing conventions. Don’t make trouble out of nothing. Just take Nie Tian and leave. Stop wasting Mr. Liu Yan’s and everybody else’s time.”

Nie Qian immediately turned to Nie Donghai. “Father!”

“It doesn’t matter who my son-in-law is,” Nie Donghai replied forcefully. “Jin’er said before she died that Nie Tian’s father was willing to take our surname and join our clan, hence Nie Tian is a descendant of the Nie clan.”

“Eldest brother,” Nie Nanshan said with a dark smile, “As far as I remember, you itched to eat that man alive. You used to talk all the time about killing him at all costs once you found him. How come you’ve changed your att.i.tude all of a sudden and admitted his status as your son-in-law? Plus, to take our surname… well, rules have to be followed, don’t they? I don’t recall that guy ever taking a vow in our ancestral shrine.”

“Exactly. Without taking a vow in the ancestral shrine and finis.h.i.+ng the ritual, a man can’t be counted as a son-in-law who is qualified to take our surname.”

“Clanmaster, you can’t be so eager to take a man you harbor deep hatred with as your son-in-law, just to qualify Nie Tian’s attendance to the lot-drawing. You have to remember that Nie Jin’s death was all because of him!”

“Even though you are the clanmaster, you can’t disregard the family rules and act recklessly, right?”

“... ”

Inside the hall, both immediate members and extended members of the Nie clan who had brought their children started yelling in dissatisfaction and accusing Nie Donghai of acting recklessly.

Every additional child partic.i.p.ating in the lot-drawing would mean a reduction of their own child’s opportunities, so naturally, people weren’t happy about that.

If it were before Nie Donghai had been seriously wounded, he would have more authority, and people wouldn’t dare to act this way.

However, they knew about Nie Donghai’s condition and the fact that he might have to hand over his position as clanmaster soon due to his degrading cultivation level, so they no longer felt the need to give him face.

Nie Beichuan sat straight in his chair and listened to the noisy crowd with no intention to break the tumult.

As the yelling grew louder and louder, Liu Yan from the Cloudsoaring sect coughed softly.

All of a sudden, everyone shut their mouths.